Bow sight



Nov. 4, 1969 G. L. KERNAN 3,475,820

BOW SIGHT Filed Sept. 27, 1967 INVENTOR.

BY Gsoaee L. KERNAN KW TORNEVS United States Patent 3,475,820 BOW SIGHT George L. Kernan, San Pablo, Calif. (2567 Fraser Court, Pinole, Calif. 94564) Filed Sept. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 670,958

Int. Cl. G01c 15/12 U.S. C]. 33-46 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bow sight includes a support for attachment to a bow, a transport adjustably carried by the support to enable the sight to be calibrated to the individual characteristics of the bow and archer, a carrier reversibly secured to the transport and equipped along opposite faces thereof with range scales, and sighting pins afiixed to the carrier and correlated with at least one of the scales and the range indicia thereof for sighting targets at the distances denoted by such indicia.

This invention relates to a sight for an archery bow and, more particularly, to a bow sight having range scales and sighting pins associated with the range indicia thereof to enable an archer to adjust his aim, thereby altering the trajectory of an arrow, in accordance with the range of a target simply by selecting for aiming purposes a sighting pin corresponding to such range.

An experienced archer uses equipment of good quality, and through practice has trained himself to follow consistently a particular pattern or procedure in shooting at a target irrespective of whether it is a moving target such as game or a fixed target such as used for practice or tournament shooting. In this respect, the resilience of the bow together with the bowstring and adjustment thereof define a particular pulling force for any given deflection of the bow, and through habit and practice the archer always nocks an arrow at the same position along the bowstring and then pulls the string through a predetermined distance such as that established by using as a measure the tip of the index finger'of the pulling or string hand touching the comer of the mouth or touching the tip of the chin. Thus, the arrow when released always has a force of particular value imparted thereto, and the distance that the arrow is to travel is determined by its trajectory which is established by the angle of the arrow at the time of its release from the bow.

In order to establish the proper trajectory for the arrow, the experienced archer frequently employs a bow sight of one of the many types available. Generally, such sights are mounted upon the bow and provide one or more sighting element correlated in some manner with particular range indicia. For example, in some instances the bow sight provides a scale having range indicia at spaced apart locations therealong, and a single sighting element is selectively movable into positions respectively identifiable with the range designations. In other instances, a plurality of individual sighting elements are provided by the bow sight, each with a particular range being assigned thereto;'and depending upon the sight, such plurality of sighting elements may be either movable selectively into and out of positions for use by the archer or they may remain in position for use in which event the archer simply selects visually the particular sighting element corresponding to the range of any given target and disregards the presence of the other elements.

The present invention is concerned with bow sights of the general type described and has for its objects, among others, a structural arrangement in which a large number of sighting elements can be employed to provide greater subdivision of the entire range and improved accuracy for the archer by permitting him to select a range- ICC sighting element more closely corresponding to the actual range of the target; an arrangement enabling the sight to be calibrated quickly and easily for all ranges by merely adjusting the same for some preselected range, which is especially advantageous in the even that recalibration of the sight is required to accommodate a weakened bowstring or the replacement of a bowstring; a sight which has no obstructions along its faces, thereby enabling association of the sighting elements and range indicia to be made without difliculty and with little chance of error; an arrangement which enables the sight or critical portions thereof to be removed readily for transport and storage of the bow; and a sight which has a plurality of range scales and sighting elements respectively associated therewith and which scales are changeable one for another to enable selective use thereof so that an archer may employ various types of arrows (glass, wood or aluminum for example), respectively related to the range scales, and can change the type of arrow and select the appropriate range scale without the necessity of recalibrating the sight. Additional objects and advantages especially as concerns particular features and characteristics of the invention will become apparent as the specification develops.

The structural composition by which such objects are accomplished includes a support adapted to be removably attached to a bow, a transport carried by the support and being adjustably positionable with respect thereto in the direction of the length of the bow and the string thereof, a carrier removably and reversibly secured to the trans port and provided along its oposite faces with range scales, and a plurality of sighting pins respectively identifiable with the range indicia of such scales and being afiixed to the carrier. The carrier may be secured to the transport in reversible positions so that one or the other of the range scales thereof is exposed for use, and the sighting pins are removably afiixed to the carrier so that they can be arranged selectively with such scales.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an archery bow equipped with a sight embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view in elevation of the bow shown in FIGURE 1 in use by an archer to aim an arrow and establish the trajectory thereof with the bow sight;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged, broken front view in elevation of the bow sight showing the same in position upon the archery bow, the view of the sight being from the archers side thereof;

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating components of the bow sight in spaced apart relation; and

FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3.

The archery bow illustrated in FIGURES l, 2 and 3 includes a flexible how 10, string 11 secured to the ends of the bow, and a handle or hand grip 12 provided along the bow 10 at substantially the mid-position thereof. The how 10, string 11, and hand grip 12 may all be com pletely conventional and are employed by an archer in the usual and customary manner to shoot an arrow 13 at a target (not shown). In view of the conventionality of the archery bow, no further description thereof concerning the details of its construction and use is necessary.

Removably secured to the how 10 along the inner surface thereof just above the hand grip 12 is a bow sight generally denoted with the numeral 14. As is most evident in FIGURES 4 and 5, the bow sight 14 includes a longitudinally extending support 15, a transport 16 carried thereby and being adjustable longitudinally therealong, a carrier 17 removably secured to the transport 16, and a plurality of sighting pins 18 afiixed to the carrier 17. The support 15 has a generally U-shaped configuration defined by spaced apart side walls 19 and 20 and a base 21 extending therebetween. The side walls 19 and 20 define an open channel therebetween forming a track which includes an inwardly extending tongue 22 oriented along the inner surface of the wall 19 and extending longitudinally with respect thereto substantially from end to end thereof. The base 21 is substantially longer than the side walls 19 and 20, and is turned downwardly and outwardly adjacent its opposite ends to provide ears 23 and 24 by means of which the support 15 is secured to the bow at spaced apart locations therealong.

In this reference, the ears 23 and 24 are respectively provided with transversely elongated slots 25 and 26 adapted to pass screws therethrough which extend into the bow 10 and aflix the support thereto, as shown in FIGURE 3 by the screw 27 which extends through the slot 25 in the car 23. Evidently, the portions of the support intermediate the slotted cars 23 and 24 are spaced from the bow 10 which results in a firm attachment of the support to the bow without the requirement for special bow-accommodating configurations and without materially interfering with the flexibility of the bow during use thereof. The elongated slots and 26 permit the support 15 to be adjustably shifted with respect to the how 10 to readily align the sight with the bow, to accommodate any sighting peculiarities of the archer, and to provide a windage compensation if the outer extremities of the pins are used for sighting or if the pins are etched or otherwise provided with sighting marks intermediate the ends thereof.

The transport 16 extends generally along the support 15 and is slidable with respect thereto. As seen best in FIGURE 5, the transport 16 is snugly received between the side walls 19 and 20 of the support and is provided with a slot 28 that slidably receives a tongue 22 therein. Thus, a stable mounting is defined for the transport 17 while affording longitudinal movement thereof relative to the support 15. The transport is releasably secured in any selected position of adjustment along the support 15 by fastener means in the form of a set screw 29 threadedly received Within an opening 30 provided therefor in the side wall 19 of the support 15 and which screw has an enlarged head to enable it to be manipulated manually. The screw 29 may be tightened against the transport 16 to lock the same in any position of adjustment relative to the support 15, and to change such adjustment the set screw 29 is released and the transport displaced to another position.

The carrier 17 in the form shown is a flat, generally rectangular plate having opposite faces 31 and 32 respectively provided with range scales therealong, as evidenced by the scale 33 shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 along the face 31 of the carrier. Each scale provides range indicia therealong and in the usual instance, such scale will denote distance or range numerically in terms of yardage. Accordingly, the scale 33 has thirteen range designations thereon specifying range in five-yard increments from a minimum range of ten yards to a maximum range of seventy yards. The carrier 17 is removably secured to the transport 16 by cap screws 34 and 35 respectively extending through openings provided therefor in the carrier and which are threadedly received within openings provided along the transport 16. It will be apparent that the faces 31 and 32 of the carrier can be selectively and alternately oriented in a position for use simply by releasing the screws 34 and 35 and reversing the orientation of the carrier so that either the face 31 or the face 32 thereof is exposed, as the case may be. As shown in FIGURE 5, the transport 16 projects outwardly from the support 15 so as to space the carrier 17 therefrom and thereby avoid engagement of the carrier with the support during adjustable displacements of the transport.

The carrier 17 is provided with a pair of mounting means respectively associated with the faces 31 and 32 and range scales therealong, and such mounting means are used to secure the sighting pins 18 to the carrier in association with the particular face and range scale to be used at any particular time. As shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, each such mounting means includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced passages or bores extending transversely into the carrier 17 from opposite longitudinal edges thereof. Thus, in the case of the face 31 and range scale 33, the passages 36 extend into the carrier from the longitudinal edge 37 thereof; and in the case of the face 32, the passages 38 extend into the carrier from its longitudinal edge 39. Evidently, the passages 36 and' 38 are dimensioned to receive the sighting pins 18 therein as indicated best in FIGURE 5. A

It will be appreciated that a sighting pin 18 usually will be provided for each of the range markings on the associated scale and, accordingly, there are thirteen sighting pins arranged with the scale 33one pin for each range indicia thereon. The pins 18 are relatively rigid elements and are simply pushed manually into the passages 36 therefor, and can be withdrawn therefrom whenever desired, although the frictional inhibition to'movement of each pin 18 in its passage 36 must be sufficient to prevent the pins from falling from the bores or from being dislodged by slight disturbances. Separate sighting pins 18 may be provided for each of the scales and bores 36 and 38 respectively associated therewith, but ordinarily the bow sight appears less cluttered and ise'asier to use if sighting pins are in position for only the particular range scale being used at any time. By'comparing the position of the pins 18 and passages 38 as shown in FIGURE 4, it will be noted that they are offset longitudinally and such offset is even more evident in FIGURE 5. This offsetting of the bores 36 and 38 is a consequence of the different trajectories required by arrows of differing weight and other flight-altering characteristics to reach targets at the same range. Thus by removing the carrier 17 and reversing the positions thereof to change one range scale for another, the bow sight is conditioned for arrows (glass and aluminum, for example) having different flight characteristics.

In use of the sight, the support 15 is secured to the bow 10 and can be adjusted transversely with respect thereto within the limits defined by the elongated slots 25 and 26, as described hereinbefore. The carrier 17 may be secured to the transport 16 with the appropriate face and range scale positioned for use, and the transport is then slipped into the support 15 and secured in some position of adjustment therealong by means of the set screw 29. It will be apparent that it makes no difference whether the carrier 17 is afiixed to the transport 16 before or after the transport is secured to the support 15, and it similarly makes no difference in what order or sequence the sighting pins 18 are positioned in the openings therefor associated with the range scale to be used.

After assembly with a how, the selected scale is calibrated by choosing a target of a known distance from the archer (ten yards, for example), and an arrow is then shot at such target using the sighting pin associated with the distance or range of the target. If the arrow strikes the target at too high an elevation, the trajectory of the arrow is reduced by moving the transport 16 upwardly along the support 15; and if the arrow strikes the target at too low an elevation, the transport is lowered along the support. Once the arrow strikes the target at the proper position, the sight is properly calibrated for such range, and it is automatically calibrated for all of the other ranges designated along the scale. The bow sight is recalibrated in the same manner whenever necessary, and it may be convenient to mark or otherwise indicate along the transport and support the relative positions thereof following any such calibration so that the transport can be returned to such position without further calibration in the event that it is removed or in the event that the transport is repositioned to accommodate calibration and positioning of the opposite ran'ge scale when it is used.

The bow sight 14 (and especially the sighting pins 18 thereof) is relatively small, and by way of example in one specific embodiment of the invention the sighting pins 18 have a diameter of approximately of an inch. In such embodiment, the bores 36 are spaced from each other by about of an inch, and a total of 34 bores 36 are provided along the longitudinal edge 37 of the carrier. The bores 38 along the edge 39 of the carrier are similarly spaced and aggregate the same total. With sighting pins 18 of such small diameter, a much finer bead on or sighting of the target may be effected especially at longer distances because the thin pin will not cover or obscure much of the target. As stated hereinbefore, the availability of the two range scales respectively calibrated for arrows of different types enables the archer to quickly convert from the use of target arrows to hunting arrows. Additionally, ready adjustability of the transport 16 along the support 15 permits ready recalibration of the sight in those instances where the archer Wishes to change the nocking point of the arrow along the bowstring 11.

What is claimed is:

1. A sight for an archery bow, comprising: a longitudinally extending support for attachment to such bow so as to extend generally in the direction of the length thereof; a transport carried by said support and being adjustable longitudinally therealong; fastener means releasably securing said transport in various positions of adjustment along said support; a longitudinally extending carrier provided with a pair of range scales each calibrated for use with a different arrow trajectory therealong respectively subdivided into range increments, said carrier having a pair of opposite faces, each face having one of said range scales therealong, and said carrier being removably and reversibly secured to said transport so that one or the other of said range scales can be selectively oriented for use; a pair of mounting means provided on said carrier in respective association with said range scales for securing sighting pins to said carrier in correlated relation with the range increments of the associated range scale; a plurality of sighting pins secured to said carrier by at least one of said mounting means in such correlated relation with the range increments of the associated range scale for selective use by an archer in aiming at targets located at distances corresponding to such increments; and fastener structure for removably securing said carrier to said transport to enable selective positioning of said range scales for use.

2. The sight of claim 1 and further including means for adjustably locating said carrier transversely relative to said archery bow to compensate for windage and the like.

3. The sight of claim 2 in which said means for adjustably locating said carrier includes elongated slots provided by said support and screws extensible through said slots for attaching said support to said archery bow.

4. The sight of claim 1 in which said support is provided with a longitudinally extending track, and in which said transport is slidable along said track to effect the aforesaid longitudinal adjustment thereof.

'5. The sight of claim 4 in which said track comprises a longitudinally extending slot, and in which said transport is equipped with a tongue positioned within said slot and being slidable therealong.

6. The sight of claim 1 in which said fastener means for releasably securing said transport to said support includes a screw fastener extending through said support and into engagement with said transport.

v7. The sight of claim 1 in which each of said mounting means comprises a plurality of pin-aflixing means adjacent a side of said carrier for securing sighting pins thereto.

8. The sight of claim 7 in which each of said pin-afiixing means includes a bore extending transversely into said carrier along a longitudinal edge thereof for receiving a sighting pin therein, all of the bores constituting any one of said mounting means being spaced apart longitudinally.

9. The sight of claim 8 in which each of said bores is adapted to removably receive a sighting pin therein, each of said sighting pins when mounted within a bore therefor being oriented transversely with respect to said carrier and projecting outwardly therefrom.

1.0. The sight of claim 1 in which said fastener structure comprises a plurality of screws extensible through openings provided therefor in said carrier and into cooperative engagement with said transport.

11. The sight of claim 1 in which said support is provided with a longitudinally extending track, and in which said transport is slidable along said track to effect the aforesaid longitudinal adjustment thereof, and in which each of said mounting means comprises a plurality of pinaffixing means in the form of bores extending transversely into said carrier along a longitudinal edge thereof for receiving a sighting pin therein, all of the bores constituting any one of said mounting means being spaced apart longitudinally.

12. The sight of claim 11 in which said track comprises a longitudinally extending slot, and in which said transport is equipped with a tongue positioned within said slot and being slidable therealong; and wherein each of said bores is adapted to removably receive a sighting pin therein, each of said sighting pins when mounted within a bore therefor being oriented transversely with respect to said carrier and projecting outwardly therefrom.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,365,800 1/1968 Carella. 3,163,938 1/1965 Reynolds. 2,767,472 10/1956 Kocur.

LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner STEVEN L. STEPHAN, Assistant Examiner 

